Category: Culture

Backpacking In Northern Ireland 💚🔴🤚☘️: Hiking Up Holy Slemish Mountain, County Antrim

Backpacking In Northern Ireland 💚🔴🤚☘️: Hiking Up Holy Slemish Mountain⛰️, County Antrim

Posted on by Jonny Blair

“Holy mountain” – Noel Gallagher. Backpacking In Northern Ireland 💚🔴🤚☘️: Hiking Up Holy Slemish Mountain, County Antrim It wasn’t until early July 2024 that I finally hiked up to the top of Slemish, arguably Northern Ireland’s holiest mountain. It’s also arguably not a mountain. But I’m not having that. This is my blog and I’m Read more about Backpacking In Northern Ireland 💚🔴🤚☘️: Hiking Up Holy Slemish Mountain⛰️, County Antrim[…]

Thirsty Thursdays: Top 10 Bars in Dominica

Thirsty Thursdays: Top 11 Bars in Dominica🇩🇲The Green💚Island🏝️

Posted on by Jonny Blair

“You should never fight your feelings. You have to follow nature’s law” – Embrace. I arrived into Dominica a little later than expected and it was really a crazy few days of whackpacking travel in December 2021. Here is why – I was backpacking in Dominica during the pandemic, after some truly personal struggles and Read more about Thirsty Thursdays: Top 11 Bars in Dominica🇩🇲The Green💚Island🏝️[…]

Thirsty Thursdays: A Pint Of O'Kell's In The Mitre, The Oldest Pub In The Isle Of Man🇮🇲

Thirsty Thursdays: A Pint Of O’Kell’s In The Mitre, The Oldest Pub In The Isle Of Man🇮🇲

Posted on by Jonny Blair

“The courtyard of my heart seems lonely” – Band Baaja Baaraat (song – Mitre). In a lot of countries, and cities I am in, I do love a quirky random pub visit – often I like to visit the oldest pub in a city. I have managed to do this in quite a few places Read more about Thirsty Thursdays: A Pint Of O’Kell’s In The Mitre, The Oldest Pub In The Isle Of Man🇮🇲[…]

Backpacking In Bournemouth: Staying In The Carrington House Hotel Where I Graduated 16 Years Later

Backpacking In Bournemouth🍒🏖️England🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: Returning To The Carrington House Hotel Where I Graduated, 16 Years Later

Posted on by Jonny Blair

“Everyone’s changing; I stay the same” – The Corrs (2004). Sentimental journeys are no stranger to my wandering heart or backpack. Neil Finn said it long before I rode my weary soul onto the streets of Bournemouth Town in 1994…my first trip to the iconic seaside town…10 years later I’d be working in a bar Read more about Backpacking In Bournemouth🍒🏖️England🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: Returning To The Carrington House Hotel Where I Graduated, 16 Years Later[…]

Friday’s Featured Food: Bajan Fish🐟Balls🍡, Bank’s Beer🍺And Choco-Cherry🍫🍒Freeze At The Tiki Bar, Hastings, Barbados🇧🇧

Posted on by Jonny Blair

While I’m certainly not a food freak, a foodie, a food blogger or a fat bastard, I still run my Friday’s Featured Food series. This series started way back in 2012 when the blog became more specific and tailored. And so, in an attempt to backdate and foodpack my way through 5,000 plus meals from Read more about Friday’s Featured Food: Bajan Fish🐟Balls🍡, Bank’s Beer🍺And Choco-Cherry🍫🍒Freeze At The Tiki Bar, Hastings, Barbados🇧🇧[…]

The Poolside Bar (Hotel Univers 3 Aeroport Luxe)

Thirsty Thursdays: The Only 5 Bars I Visited In Niamey, Niger🇳🇪

Posted on by Jonny Blair

“Stand by me; nobody knows the way it’s gonna be” – Noel Gallagher. I certainly didn’t go to Niger for a booze up or even to pub crawl it, nobody does that do they? But somehow in the madness of it all we actually still managed to drink in 5 different bars in 4 days Read more about Thirsty Thursdays: The Only 5 Bars I Visited In Niamey, Niger🇳🇪[…]

Departure tax - shocking Sierra Leone - nothing at the airport works - no Wi-Fi, no cash machines that work, no card payments.

Backpacking in Sierra Leone🇸🇱: Scrap Your Departure Tax and You Might Get More Tourists

Posted on by Jonny Blair

“We are not born for departure, but we do learn to take it” – R.E.M. In the last 20 years of backpacking the world, only TWO countries charged me for departure tax to be paid in cash at the airport when leaving…and the shitlist reads… 1.New Zealand🇳🇿. 2.Sierra Leone🇸🇱. Of course they are not my Read more about Backpacking in Sierra Leone🇸🇱: Scrap Your Departure Tax and You Might Get More Tourists[…]

Thirsty Thursdays: My Top 10 And Bottom 2 Bars In Central African Republic 🇨🇫

Posted on by Jonny Blair

“Love’s a hide and hate display” – Nicky Wire. I never expected to visit 5 bars in the CAR, nevermind double figure it, but here we are, there we were. In my previous few countries – Niger I drinkpacked only 5 bars and in Burkina Faso just the 9, with Mauritania limited to 5 non-alcoholic Read more about Thirsty Thursdays: My Top 10 And Bottom 2 Bars In Central African Republic 🇨🇫[…]

101 Countries And Out: Retiring My Beloved Forest Green Mindshift Gear ThinkTank Backpack

113 Countries And Out: Retiring My Beloved Forest Green🌳☘️Mindshift Gear ThinkTank Backpack🎒🍀💚

Posted on by Jonny Blair

**It’s time to retire my lovely forest green backpack!!** “Days that found you; grace that bound you” – Teenage Fanclub. General wear and tear, two snapped zips, one broken zip cord, a torn sleeve and more stains than a brothel’s bed, but this exact green backpack has successfully backpacked through 101 countries with me in Read more about 113 Countries And Out: Retiring My Beloved Forest Green🌳☘️Mindshift Gear ThinkTank Backpack🎒🍀💚[…]

Jealous of this guy's Omam-Biyick shirt - what a jersey that is - 1990!

Living My 1990 Football⚽Dream In Cameroon🇨🇲: Watching The Top Division Play-Offs And Meeting Samuel Eto’o In Douala!!

Posted on by Jonny Blair

“They can come true yeah. They can come true” – Gabrielle (Dreams). Before you read this, look at the above photo and watch Omam Biyick’s legendary header below. I watched it live after school in June 1990 in Marlo in Bangor, Northern Ireland. I wanted Cameroon to win. I loved it. I love it. I Read more about Living My 1990 Football⚽Dream In Cameroon🇨🇲: Watching The Top Division Play-Offs And Meeting Samuel Eto’o In Douala!![…]